ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the question of the possibility of health hazards resulting from exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), specifically when contained in consumer products. The ultimate answer will depend on the availability of several types of investigation include epidemiologic survey of diseases in users of products containing TCE and in workers exposed to TCE; concentration of TCE in the environment of the user. It further includes toxicologic investigation in animals of TCE alone and in combination with propellants and the constituents dispensed in the aerosol. The chapter discusses several reports of diseases occurring in workers exposed to levels probably the Threshold Limit Value. The identification of the cause of the disease is complicated by the exposure of workers to other pollutants or by the fact that the worker himself may have a constitutional predisposition to the disease. The reasons for the higher incidence could include greater use of TCE in industry as well as a higher toxicity of TCE.
